Bio
Viktor Kotov – Composer, Pianist, Duduk and Shvi player
Viktor’s style blends seventeen years of classical training in Europe with contemporary improvisation to create imaginative arrangements of popular classics, Jazz standards, Broadway, and Soundtrack music.
Viktor composes and improvises in many different music styles, ranging from classical to jazz and blues. He also composes music on the spot, even while performing.
In 2007 and 2009 Columbia College of Chicago invited Viktor to perform on duduk in their Elemental Project (Global Folk Traditions course, Music Composition for the Screen program). He played duduk with Ensemble “Ice” on the stage of Columbia College.
The duduk is one of the oldest double reed instruments in the world which dates back over 3,000 years. Variants of the duduk can be found in Armenia and the Caucasus. The roots of Armenian duduk music go back to the times of the Armenian king Tigran the Great (95-55 BC]. The instrument is depicted in numerous Armenian manuscripts of the Middle Ages.
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